Machine for twisting wire into lightning-rods.



No. 895,440. Y PMBNTED AUG. 11, 1908.

' .1.1. DooLBY. N MACHINE FOR TWISTING WIRE INT0 LIGHTNING Rous.

Y \.PPLICA'I`ION FILED DEC. 23, 1565..

.nNrrEn 01?.,FICE--- ANDREW JACKSON DOOLEY, OF TOPEK, KANSAS.

MACHINE FOR TWISTING WIREk INTO LIGHTNING-RODS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug. 11, 1908.

Appiication sied December 28, 1905. serial No. 293,686.

To 'all whomit may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW JACKSON DOOLEY', a citizen of the United States, residing at Topeka.,- in the county of Shawnee and State of Kansas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Machines for Twisting lVire into Lightning-Rods, of which the followin(r is a specification.

The objects of the invention are: to improve generally upon machines for making up lightning rods and like devices in the form of wire cables from a number of wires or strands.

Although my invention is designed -primarily to make lightning rods, it will be quite plain that its utility is not confined to lightning rods but that the product may be applied to other uses, this patent having to do with the machine itself and not with the product.

Further objects aie, to provide a simple and efficient braiding machine; to provide such a machine in which the number of strands, the number of wires, the tensions, the battening, ctc., may be varied by simple operations and to provide themechanisms and details hereinafter set forth andclaiined.

The invention consists of the parts, improvements, and combinations hereinafter described and claimed.

In the draw-'ings acconuganyinor and forming part of this specification and in the description thereof, I have shown the invention in its preferred form, and have shown the best mode of a )plyng the )rinciples thereof; but it is to e understood that the invention itself is not confined to these drawings and the description of the drawings, that it may be applied to other uses, that parts and combinations as separately claimed may be used with or without other devices of like general nature, and that I contemplate chaiigesin form, proportions, material, the transposition or' parts, and the substitution of equivalent members without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Figure 1 is a central section of the spool and immediately adjacent parts. Fig. is a top plan view of the twisting apparatus, the frame` being supposed to be in horizontal position, though it is undeistood that in operation the entire twisting fra-nie rotates. Fig. 3 is a side view. Figs. 4, 5 and (3 are details in section, through the lines 13 13', 1411,a-nd 15"-15, respectively, of Fig. 2.

Like refeience numerals indicate like orA corresponding parts throughout the several views.

The ti'visting apparatus may rest on crossbeanis, or bearings, 80', S0', which provide suitable supports for the shafts on which the twister rotates. The shaft 81 is hollow and through it the several strands pass from the braiding apparatus into the twister. The other shaft S2 may be solid. Both are secured to their supports and do not'rotate. The twister frame S3 is made up principally of the two pieces of bar iron S3', 83, of proper. size and strength. At one end they are secured to the block S4 which is mounted rotatably onthe hollow shaft S1; and at the other end they are secured to the inside face of the drive sprocket 85.

Extending from side to side of the frame and suitably mounted therein is the spindle or shaft comprising the two parts S6 and S7, the part 87 being pinned or keyed to the hub SS, to the fiange of which is secured the sprocket S9. The inner end of the part S6, which is the removable shaft, is threaded as at 90 and adapted to be screwed into the hub SS, as clearly indicated in Fig. 1. Another flanged hub 91 fits onto the removable shaft S6.' 94 is any suitable spool on which the productof the machine, the finished braided and twisted lightning rod in the case immediately in view is wound; and the purpose of the arrangement of the shaft, etc., is topravide a simple arrangement for putting in an empty spool and removing the filled one, so that the cable need not be again unwound from the twisting machine onto another s wool for the market. To place the spool in the machine, the shaft S6- is removed, the spool held in pro )er iosition, and the shaft S6 is tilieninserte an screwed u by means of a pin inserted through the ho e 93. The flange 9] is then lpressed up and the wedge 92 driven into slot 92'; which firmly secures the spool. Obviously the spool may be readily removed by knocking out the wedge 92 and unscrewing the removable shaft S6. Another shaft 95 is also extended between the frame and is provided with a small sprocket 96 and a bevel gear 97 which meshes with a small bevel gear 9S secured onto the stub shaft S2. Now, the shaft. S2 and gear 9S be ing stationary, as the twister frame is rotatedA by means of the drive sprocket S5, the shaft 95 is 'rotated by reason of the gear 97 engaging with gear 9S in revolving thereabout; and ro tation is thereby communicated to the spool 9-1 through the' sprockets 96 and 89 and a sprocket chain connecting them but not here shown.

keyed onto the shaft S7.

The cable coming from the inner end S1' of the hollow shaft S1, passes through the guide slot 99 which is made of two suitable A rods extending from the threaded collar 100 which engages on the screw 103 amlwhich has an arm 101 adapted to gass along the channel in the channel iron 102 to hold the collar from turning. As the screw 103 is vturned in one direction or the other, the colvlar is moved along its length -with the effect of shifting the cable so as to be wound up uniformly on the spool. To turn the screw, and to alternately reverse the direction of rotation of the screw so as to send the collar back and forth the length of the spool, I have devised the mechanisms now to be described.

4Keyed to the outer end of the screw is a ratchet whose teeth are faced both ways, so as to be adapted to be moved in either directien 3 to move it in one direction I provide the upper rac-k 105, and to move it in the other dlrectionlprovide the lower rack 106. These two racks are movably mounted in slots in the guides 107 and 108 and are secured together by a rod or bar 109, to which is pivoted one end of a pitman 1'10 the other end of which engages a wrist pin 111 on a disk 112 secured to a pinion 113 on a stub-shaft 114. The pinion meshes with a larger gear 115 The edge of each rack engaging the ratchet is divided into a number of teeth adapted to one-way engage ment with the ratchet so as to turn it only in one direction as it is reciprocated, as shown at 1 16, 1 16. They are connected by a spring' 117 and also by a. bar 127, the spring tending to draw them toward each other so as to engagevthe ratchet teeth. The spring 118, one end of which is connected to the bracket 119 normally holds the lower rack 106 in ene-age- "ment with the ratchet, and the upper ract out of engagement therewith. .On the outer end of a shaft 120 suitably mounted in the frame,

is a cam or segment 121 loosely mounted on the shaft. A s )rinor 124 connects the guide or bracket 107 with tire long pin 122 extending outfromsaidcam. Ashorter pin 123 also extends out from said segment, and between these two pins is a third pin 125 radially extendingfrom the shaft 120. On the shaft 120,

vbetween the frame bars, are the collars 121',

aud 122', each being properly secured thereto by a set-screw, and each having an inclinedplane surface adapted to be engaged by a finger 124 extending from the screw collar 100, as the said screw collar is moved to and fro along said screw 103. These inclined surfaces, are indicated by the immoral 123". Also suitably secured to the shaft 120 as by a set-screw, is an arm 129 forming one member of a toggle joint the other member 130 of which extends loosely through the crosspiece 83 of the frame, and isnprovided with I a compression spring 131 tending to force l f said'joint against either one of` the'stop pins "132 according to the direetioirin which the.

arm 129 is turnedby the shaft'120. The end of the lower rack 106 may be providedwith a i racks through t ie gear 115, pinion 113, disk 112, pitman 110; and this motion thus imparts to the screw a right-hand motion by reason of the rack 105 engaging the ratchet 104. The pressure of the rack against the mtehet is not enough to prevent the rack teeth from slipping back over the ratchet teeth in their backward motion, the friction of the parts being enough to prevent this backward motion. y And thus as the twister is operated the screw collar with its guiding slot for the'cable will be brought to the right (viewed from the left-hand end of the drawings). lith such motiomtoo, the arm 124 will come into engagementwvitli the inclinedplane surface 123" of the collar 121,and will thereby turn the shaft 120 until the toggle in line with the ends of the spool so as t0"``` carry the cable, in winding, from one end to the other, and the part-s may obviously be adjusted so that the cable is wound closely and solidly upon the s ool. The parts 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, an( 125 are so adjusted with relation to each other and with relation to the inclined planes and the spring toggleoint, that the segment 121 does not leave the lower rack or the piece 126 until after the toggle-joint has passed it-s deadfcenter; nor are the spring 124, pin 122, and shaft 120 past their center-line until after the togglejoint has passed its dead-center. But said shaft 120 and pin 125 turn the segment against the tension of the spring 124 with the segment in engagement with the lower rack or piece 126 up to the time that it carries the toggle-joint past its dead-center, and then the segment and pin 122v are carried beyond their center line by the action of the spring 130 in turning the shaft after the shaft has been turned to the dead-center line by the arm 124 and inclined plane. YVhereupon the spring 11b` draws up the lower rack mto engagement with the ratchet and throws the upper rack out of engagement therewith,

895,440 v y c 3 with the result of reversing t-he direction of the screw rotation. By this means it will be seen that the inclined planes are adapted to movev the toggle-joint just to and beyond the dead-center line, and the further action of the spring in the toggle-joint moves the cam or segment into or out of full engagement with the rack; by which means I am able t-o overcome the necessity of a momentum for carryinflr the arts beyond the dead-center line, anl by w iich I provide a positively aoting reversing mechanism.

Power may be transmitted to the t-wister and the braider from a common shaft having s )rockets connected -by sprocket chains with the sprockets 85 and 43 respectively. As the twisted cable is wound up on the reel 94 the several strands and the individual wires are also drawn out from the several braiding elements and oil' of the bobbins. The braiding is done in the several elements as heretofore described in detail through the operation of said shuttles and heddles, and the twisting is done between the out-let end S1' of the hollow shaft 81 and the spool. The twisting apparatus revolves as a whole upon the stationary shafts S1 and S2. The twist may be regulated by increasing or decreasing the speed of the twister in relation to the speed of the braider, and through the tension o the wires. l..

What I claim is:

1. In a wire-twisting machine the combination of a revoluble twister frame and a rotatable reel therein and means for actuating the same, a screw extending parallel with the axle of said spool, a cable=guide engaging wit-h said screw, driving means for the screw, and a toggle-joint device for positively reversing the direction of rotation of said screw.

2. The combination of a reel, a screw, a

cable-guide engaging with the screw, means for rotating the rcel and means for rotating the screw, together with a spring togglejoint for positively changing the direction of rotation of the screw.

3. The combination of a frame, a spool, a screw, a threaded cable-guide engaging with the screw, means for rotating the spool, means for rotating thescrew in uniformity with the spool, and a spring-pressed togglejoint for positively changing the direction of rotation of the screw.

4. The combination of a frame, a spoolmounted therein having an axle, a screw, a

threaded cable-guide engaging with the` screw, a ratchet-secured to the screw, racks adapted to rotate the ratchet in opposite directions respectively, a. pitman connection between said axle and said racks, and two inclined planes and two spring-pressed tovgle joints to automatically and alternate y bring said racks into engagement with said ratchet to reverse the direction of motion of said cable-guide.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my' hand in the presence of subscribing witncsscs.

ANDREW JCKhON DOOLEY.

lVit-nesses:

T. FISHER, C. J. ROSEN. 

